Unslabbed at any age. Personal preference. But my collection isn't an investment it's an escape from this f'd up world. More of a passion with history. History seems an important part of reality that sadly a lot of young people seem to brush it aside as lame. History seems to repeat itself yet no one learns from it which make a constant circle of events.
If you're looking to make money on coins, then invest in something else. Coins are a risky investment. Just collect what you want to collect and if it's worth more in the future, great. And if not, well who cares?
Depends entirely on what you plan to collect, how much you are going to spend, what your collecting goals are, and probably more important what your personal preference is. There is no single answer. I can tell you, my personal preference is to have coins raw. I do not like slabs and try my best to avoid buying coins in slabs, and crack any coin I purchase out of them. I store my coin in paper envelopes because I like to take them out and hold them. This personal preference largely steered me into my main collecting interests, U.S. large cents previously, and now ancients, because in those two collecting areas raw coins are still the norm. I have seem $10,000+ large cents stored in paper envelopes, and have heard stories of collectors carrying $1,000,000 large cents in their pocket and handing them over to other collectors to inspect, same goes with ancients. I liked this ethic and wanted to faternize with other like minded collectors. In my opionion, for too many people slabs have become the product that they collect, not the coin inside the slab. On the high end of the market you see people paying large sums of money for a coin with 1 grade difference from PCGS when the coins are basically equivalent, or worse the ‘lower’ graded coin is nicer. All for the prestigage of having their collection higher up in the registry set scoreboard. For me, collecting is personal. I do not care what someone else thinks of the coin, I make the grading/value decision based on what I like. Now, that’s not to say I ignore the advice of more experienced collectors because I value it tremendously and I am always open to advice about coins. But at the end of the day, I am not purchasing a coin because PCGS said it was a specific grade, or because my collecting goals are to compete with other collectors for what PCGS has said is the ‘best’ collection. I purchase coins because I like to collect for my pleasure, and I evaluate coins based on my personal taste, which is of course informed by other collectors and the current ideas surrounding surface quality and preservation. On slabs or not, you have to factor into the purchase of a coin the amount of money that is represented by the coin and the slabbing costs. If you’re buying a $10 2009 cent I would argue that $9.99 of that is the cost of slabbing because you can still go to the bank and find BU examples in rolls. If you are buying key date cents like an S-vdb it may be worthile for you to spend the extra money and get a slabbed example at $950 instead of the raw one at $900 if you are not comfortable grading/authenticating coins yourself. Although again slabbed coins can be wildly misgraded and fake slabs are on the market, so I would encourage you to not spend a lot of money on these types of coins until you can grade/authenticate for yourself. Last point on resale value/ease. There is a lot that goes into this, and it’s not just slab versus no slab. The only real way to get a handle on what coins are easy to sell, and if slabs make a difference is to periodically sell some coins, which I advise collectors to do. It’s a great learning experience and really teaches you how to buy coins. It’s all to easy to book paper profits on coins only to realize that there is no market, you paid too much for the coin, or you had not considered just how large the bid/ask spread really is; this applies even more so for common material. If I was your age and had your budget, I would be buying rolls of coins from the bank and filling up albums/searching for silver. Very little money involved for a lot of time spent/fun. Alternatively, try putting together a nice set of walking liberty half dollars in a grade where you are basically getting the coins for melt value, or maybe a small premium above, and skip the key dates until you have more experience/disposable income. Alternatively you could look into a type set of U.S. silver, or maybe 20th centery silver, again looking to pick up coins at basically 1x to 2x melt value. There are a ton of options here, but I would encourage you to explore what you like and discourage you from purchasing a slabbed 2009 cent because you really want ‘a slabbed coin’. That strikes me as buying the marketing, not collecting the coin.
If you're going to collect the ancients, go with the ancients collectors' advice. But if you are going to buy key date US coins, gold US coins or generally any hefty purchase of a US coin, NGC/PCGS slabs are the way to go -- at least until you've learned to grade and detect cleaned and counterfeit coins yourself. There is absolutely no point, none whatsoever, to losing hundreds of dollars or more while you gain mastery of those skills.
Well all these are good ideas I will do some research I have interest in a few different kinds I like half dollar's
I agree with @BooksB4Coins my preference change all the time. I'm very eclectic when it comes to collecting if I like it and can afford it I buy it. Not recommended for most bust I like having sets and pieces. I mean how many MS66 Buffalos or PR70DCAM State Quarters do you need. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Excellent points that I, in no way, wish to dispute. However, we could take it one step further and suggest the OP refrain from making anything other than token (amount) purchases until he's learned/studied more about his potential interests. I say this not to deter the young gentleman, but only to urge caution, especially after seeing his question about how to sell. Slabs certainly offer every benefit mentioned above (and then some) but I'd hate to see him get the idea that they, in any way, mean the coin inside is a solid "investment" or will not, cannot, or is unlikely to lose money; it's not quite as with raw, but still very easy to bury one's self when buying slabbed. All things considered, and particularly due to the fact I fear money is burning a hole in his pocket, slowing down and learning first may very well be the wisest option available to him.
I'm with Books on that idea. It's fun to read and study about coins. In that reading, I bet, our new friend will come across something that turns him on enough to delve deeper and perhaps start his collection there.
The OP should be able to look at all the advice given here, there's a lot of mix. I agree with a little bit of what most have offered as advice. I've collected modern & world coins for guessing 25 plus years. But I got bored, hence my change of direction to ancient coins.. IMO ancients is not for the simple minded. It takes research & knowledge magnified that of Modern U.S. And it really helps to know & appreciate history. Just like all areas of coin collection there are inexpensive & very expensive, as well as fakes. But I think there's more fake ancients that the others. Slabs, as already said there's no need to bow down to the industry & pay for a slab & someone's oppinion. You can base an oppinion on your coin off what you learn & the fact it's your coin the only person who you need to satisfy is yourself. EVERYBODY has made mistakes or bad buys it happens in this hobby. The important thing is you learn from it & don't repeat it. I have probably 60 coins to 1 slabbed. Rarely is it important to buy a coin in a slab. You can't trust because it's in a slab that it's not a fake. Take your time start small like suggested then graduate to bigger & better things as you learn & can afford it. Also don't gamble on a coin purchase more than your willing to loose. I am a lot like MKent as to starting then moving on to something else. I have more collections started than finished by far. But I'll cycle back around when I see something I need for a certain collection or my mood changes. It keeps me fresh entertained and always learning. My wife has said she'd be happy with all the money & time I spend with my coins if I'd just finish 1 or 2. Bottom line, I could care less what anybody else thinks of any given of my coins. But I value the knowledge that everybody shares. I wish you the best of luck & hope you have a blast with whatever you decide to collect.
That's a great idea and it's called a thematic collection. Some even collect animals, reptiles, flowers, etc. Nice thought you have and should be relatively inexpensive.
Honestly, that should not be a major consideration. Keep your investment money and your collecting money separate. Fund the investments first, then buy your coins. I think you will be a lot happier _ and much farther ahead financially.
Look online to find trusted sellers/experts in the field of ancients. A Dr. Robert Kurlan advertised in Numismatic News. He sells both hoard/un-cleaned coins if that's where you want to start inexpensively to learn the process of cleaning and identification but he also sells better coins in varying grades. I'm not advertising here for him but it might be a starting point for a novice.
I have hardly ever heard such valuable advice and insight. Good job, all of you. If you decide to start on a series, such as walking liberty halves, think about getting a range of different examples. For example, you may want a common date in mint condition to appreciate the beauty of the series. But think about other grades as equally important. You can look at a Good or Fine coin and see its history in the wear. You can learn a lot about surfaces by looking at a cleaned coin. I have found that approaching each coin with an open mind opens the door to more thinking, learning, and appreciation. And I thank the members here for helping me with that. Don't be shy about asking about what you get.
I am proud of all the help and advice you all have giving me I will always keep in mind unslabbed is better then slabbed what is best way to tell if coins been cleaned.